Luke Johnson, 37, is the founder of an investment trust, Intrinsic Value, and chairman of Belgo Group - the business behind high-profile London restaurants such as The Ivy, Le Caprice and the Belgo chain.

Sometimes called a "playboy millionaire", he began investing in public and private companies in 1989 after several years working as a stockbroking analyst at Kleinwort Benson. Successes to date include Topps Tiles, the UK's leading tile retailer (the shares have risen from 50p to over 250p since the company went public three years ago) and American Port Services. The London-listed group was sold for £100m to Associated British Ports in June 1998, showing a return of more than 250% on its 1995 issue price.

Johnson is a non-executive director of many companies including logistics business Nightfreight, venture capitalists VCT, internet incubator fund NewMedia Spark and tea retailer Whittards of Chelsea. As an executive he has seen the Belgo group's share value multiply eightfold since the start of his involvement in 1996 and, previously, was at the helm when Pizza Express's shares rose from 40p to 800p between 1992 and 1999.

However, Johnson gives credit where it's due. In a recent column in the Sunday Telegraph he spent a week as a waiter at his group's Belgo Centraal restaurant in London. It was an "eye-opening experience," he wrote, and concluded that "the success of the restaurant is entirely down to the staff's efforts".